Commonly, a firefighter, rescue worker, or chemical worker or another wearer needing head protection is required to wear a face mask secured removably to the wearer's head, via a head harness, which is attached detachably to the face mask, via fasteners at or near an outer perimeter of the face mask. Commonly, a fitment is secured removably to the face mask. The fitment may be an element of a self-contained breathing apparatus, such as a regulator, or the fitment may be a respirator, to which an air filter is mounted.
Along with the face mask, the firefighter may be also required to wear a protective hood, which provides a fire-retardant, thermally insulative barrier protecting the wearer's head, except for at least a portion of the wearer's face where the face mask is worn, and protecting the wearer's neck, and which is worn over the head harness and over at least part of an outer perimeter of a window portion of the face mask. As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,828, U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,031, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,025, the disclosures of which patents are incorporated herein by reference, it is known for the protective hood to be directly and detachably attached to the face mask, as via similar fasteners used to attach the head harness detachably to the face mask.